Aurora police union endorses Trump for president

AURORA | The Aurora police officers’ largest union endorsed Donald Trump for president Monday, saying he would keep the city “safe and secure,” according to the Trump campaign.

In a statement from the campaign, Aurora police Sgt. Bob Wesner, president of the Aurora Police Association, joined the leaders of the Denver and Colorado Springs police unions in backing the Republican nominee.

“The Aurora Police Association believes that Donald Trump’s strong support for law enforcement will ensure safer communities in Colorado and across our country,” Wesner said in the statement.

After the APA endorsement was announced, the Aurora police department put out a statement clarifying that the union doesn’t speak for the entire department. In the statement from the department, a police spokesperson said the department does not endorse in political races.

Wesner said Monday that the union did not endorse a presidential candidate in the previous two elections. This endorsement could be the APA’s first in a presidential race, he said.

The union’s executive board voted in favor of endorsing Trump, he said, not the entire union. While the board’s vote wasn’t unanimous, he said the majority of them wanted to endorse the GOP candidate. The endorsement wasn’t sparked by any particular policy plank, Wesner said, but by the candidate’s overall support for law enforcement.

“We just like what he has to say about law enforcement and he is very supportive of law enforcement so we wanted to support him,” he said.

Aurora police have two unions — the APA and the Fraternal Order of Police — but the APA is the larger of the two and the one that bargains on behalf of the officers.

It wasn’t clear Monday whether the Aurora lodge of the FOP had endorsed a candidate in the presidential race. The Aurora FOP’s president did not immediately return a request for comment.

The national FOP endorsed Trump last month.

Patrick Davis, an advisor for Trump’s campaign in Colorado, said the endorsements from the unions for the three biggest departments in the state were an honor.

“Donald Trump stands for tougher law enforcement and safer communities, and these endorsements demonstrate that the brave policemen and women in Colorado agree with Mr. Trump’s goal of making America safe again,” he said in the statement. “We are honored to have their support and will work with them to get Mr. Trump’s message of protecting our communities out to Colorado voters in the coming weeks.”